Reported by: Puis Althea | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A grieving father in Guinea has accused authorities of being responsible for the death of his 17-year-old son, Mamadou Djouma Bah, who died days after being arrested and jailed for allegedly cheating in the country's national baccalaureate examination. The teenager, who lived with sickle cell disease, was arrested on July 15, 2026, after he was allegedly caught using his phone during the exam. Two days later, he was convicted of exam fraud and sentenced to six months in prison, five of which were suspended. He began serving the remaining one-month sentence at a prison in Kindia, a city roughly 137 kilometres north-east of the capital, Conakry.
According to the prosecutor, Mamadou Djouma Bah was transferred to hospital after his health deteriorated while in custody and later died "under the care of his treating physician". However, his father, Mamadou Saliou Bah, told the BBC that his son did not "receive good medical care" in detention and has called for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. Speaking to the BBC, Saliou Bah recounted the heartbreaking moment he visited his son in the hospital. The teenager, struggling to breathe, asked to lean against him. "Then he looked at me and said: 'Dad, I'm dying,'" Saliou Bah recalled. "Those were his last words."
The teenager spent approximately two days in hospital before being discharged to return home, where he subsequently died, according to officials. Sickle cell disease is a lifelong illness, common among people of African descent, caused by a faulty gene that produces unusually shaped red blood cells. These cells can become stuck in blood vessels, leading to severely painful episodes and an increased risk of serious infections. People with the condition often require consistent medical care to manage complications.
The death has sparked outrage and grief in Guinea. On Wednesday, students took to the streets to demonstrate against the detentions of their classmates, calling for their immediate release. Human rights organisations have joined the father in demanding an independent inquiry into both Djouma Bah's death and the continued detention of other students arrested in connection with the same examinations. Guinea's Education Minister, Alpha Bacar Barry, expressed that he was "deeply saddened by the news" and extended his "sincere condolences" to the grieving family.
The case has intensified a national debate over how exam offences should be handled and whether imprisonment is an appropriate punishment for students accused of academic misconduct. Saliou Bah has urged the authorities to release the remaining detained students, warning that further lives could be at risk. "A student should not be sent to prison. These young people are the future of our country," he said. "We lost our son; we lost our future."
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